Pens Get Rewarded in the Win Column

WHAT HAPPENED

RELATED LINKS
Photo Gallery
Infographic
Watch: Game Highlights
Watch: Coach Sullivan Speaks to the Media

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

During their first two games of the year, the Pens displayed plenty of pushback, emotion and resiliency to put themselves within striking distance of either tying the score or taking a lead. They just couldn't find a way to find a goal.
They had more of that tonight, and this time, they finally got rewarded. First with one point, and then two.
"We're trying to establish ourselves in the standings," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We come out of the first couple of games without any points, and I thought we played better than the results that we got, but that's hockey. Sometimes that happens. So, we just had to make sure that we responded the right way today. And to get two points I think is important for our team. I was happy for our players. I think that should give them a boost of confidence."
While Rodrigues opened the scoring just 19 seconds into the game, the Capitals did tilt the ice in their favor for the rest of the period by outworking the Penguins to a 2-1 lead.
"We weren't hard to play against," Pettersson said. "We didn't hold onto pucks."
But the Penguins regrouped in the intermission and played much better for the remainder of the day, with the players all agreeing the biggest key was getting more time in the offensive zone. They responded each time that the Capitals pulled ahead before ultimately getting the job done in a shootout.
"It always feels good to win, especially when you lose two early," Guentzel said. "And to get this one, when we were down after the first, I think is big for us. Hopefully more wins keep coming."

OTHER THOUGHTS, MUSINGS AND OBSERVATIONS

* Casey DeSmith was incredibly solid in his first start since the 2018-19 season despite having to deal with the added challenge of overtime and a shootout.
"The only thing I was really focused on was getting a win," DeSmith said while doing his postgame media availability alongside Guentzel. "Obviously the first period, they got two on me, so I'm just happy I could battle back the rest the game. The team played great in the second two periods and then even better in overtime, and then I had Guentzy here to help me out."
The Capitals are a team loaded with talent, and they're going to get their looks, especially when they have the man-advantage. And the goals they scored all stemmed from good ones. One tally came off a 4-on-3, and the others were the result of some defensive miscues. Apart from that, DeSmith was just steady as a rock back there, making some big saves and giving his team a lot of confidence.
After an entertaining extra period, DeSmith had to go up against the likes of T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin in the shootout - and didn't allow a goal against.
"He was real solid in the shootout," Sullivan said. "He made some big saves for us. And that's what our expectations are of our goaltenders. When you get the timely save, it gives your team a better chance to win. He did that for us today."

* The Penguins looked reallygood in overtime and had some incredible looks. Hopefully the players in the top-six who are looking to get in the goal column should take some confidence from that. Particularly Evgeni Malkin, who was just an absolute beast out there. His line with Bryan Rust and Jason Zucker was terrific during training camp, and Sullivan said he talked with Malkin on Saturday about that.
"We just want to make sure that they don't get discouraged just because they haven't been on the scoresheet," Sullivan said. "They're a good line. Geno was a dominant player. I thought he had the puck an awful lot today. And that's usually a good sign that his game is where it needs to be. So we'll just keep encouraging them, and hopefully they'll find the back of the net here."
* For a third straight game, the third line of Jared McCann, Mark Jankowski and Brandon Tanev was a factor. They didn't get on the scoresheet tonight, but they still did their job when it came to being hard to play against and building momentum.
They had a particularly strong shift in the second period where they spent the majority of it in the offensive zone, relentlessly chasing down pucks and wearing down Washington. And Malkin's line, which was the next group over the boards, capitalized. The Caps watched as Zucker skated around the net and found Marcus Pettersson in the slot, where he sniped a shot past Caps goalie Ilya Samsonov.

"I actually came right off the bench," Pettersson said. "When you do that, especially in the second, it's tough for their team to pick it up. Zucks made a great play. I just tried to find some quiet ice in the middle, because you know they're going to pressure out and play wide. I didn't really call for it, I kind of wanted to sneak in there. He made a great play with a heads-up pass. Just tried to shoot it quick."
Sullivan said they have always felt like Pettersson has an offensive dimension to his game, which is why they have used him on the second power-play unit. The Penguins are going to try to help him grow in that area.
"He sees the ice pretty well, and that goal is a perfect example," Sullivan said. "He has an ability to jump into the windows of opportunity to get those to give himself a chance for those types of opportunities, and it was a great shot. It was a bullet; it was well placed. And Marcus is capable of that."
* Pettersson started the game playing alongside John Marino, but the two of them had a bit of a rough start, so the coaches split them up. Pettersson paired up with Chad Ruhwedel while Marino skated with Juuso Riikola.
Riikola had slotted into the lineup for Mike Matheson, who is longer-term with an upper-body injury he sustained on Friday against Philadelphia, per Sullivan. The team placed Matheson on injured reserve retroactive to Friday.
* Forward Colton Sceviour had to wait a LONG time for his first goal as a Penguin, which tied the score at 2-2 early in the second period, to get confirmed. With Samsonov caught behind his own goal, Teddy Blueger had found Sceviour wide open in front of a wide-open net. His redirection was called a goal on the ice, but they had to check and make sure it crossed the line and didn't just hit the inside of the crossbar. Turned out that it hit the camera.

* The power play, which went 0-for-5 tonight, has been doing a lot of good things to start the season. Today they did a particularly good job of getting up the ice and their entries were silky smooth, as the Penguins pretty much gained the zone at will. Once there, they got set up and moved the puck well. They just didn't get enough pucks and bodies to the net. As Sullivan always says, nothing breaks down coverage better than a shot on goal, and hopefully the guys really take that to heart moving forward.
* This was the first regular-season game played at PPG Paints Arena since March 8, 2020. It felt amazing to be back, but it definitely wasn't the same without our fans. We truly cannot wait until state safety protocols and capacity limits allow for it.
That being said, the Penguins' game entertainment and production staff did an amazing job with the game presentation, as always. They created a great atmosphere for the players that was as close to a real game as possible. And a fun surprise from today is that Party Hard is back as the goal song.